Danika' New Fun

      Because of this wonderful weather that we are having, I have had the opportunity to take Danika outside more. Which she loves! And since she is walking very well now, I let her explore, to a certain extent. One day she found a flowerpot filled with dirt, but no flowers. And she went to town digging in that pot, and eventually tasting it. It looked like she had eaten a bunch of oreos. 

      But the most fun she has had was when she found the two buckets that had filled with rainwater. I hope no one will think me a terrible mother for letting her play with these buckets. I was with her the entire time, she never was out of my site while playing with the buckets. 

     Now that the disclaimer is done with, I hope you enjoy Danika's little fun with the buckets. :) I especially like the face she makes when she splashes herself in the eye.

Dani Lately

Isn't that exciting?! Ya, it is a bit...garbled, but common! I'm excited. Danika is talking so much more now. What a "chatty Kathy"! She also started saying "hot dog" from watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning, which is super cute. I'll try to get a video of that one to put up too. 

Dani has had a hard week so far. She is sick with an ear infection, a cold and cough and getting at least four molars in. Poor thing. But we got medication for the infection and Tylenol for the teeth. And really she hasn't been that bad since yesterday. Yesterday morning, before we went to the doctors, she was awful. She wouldn't let me put her down, and she screamed the worst even when the doctor was trying to listen to her breathing. I felt terrible for her. Funny thing though, once we got home she was all smiles and happiness! My mom came home and was like "sure Julie, she sounds terrible to me too". But I tell you she was! She just decided she was done being a twerp when Grandma was going to be home I guess. :)

Well, she is in the pantry right now, so I should probably stop her from getting into the cake flour that is sitting on the flour. That would be fun! 

A Me Update (that is long overdue)

   So usually I am just updating this blog about Danika, but I thought I'd give an update about myself this time. Some pretty big things have been happening. 

   As most of you know, I have been at Empire College in the evenings for a certificate in Legal Office Administration. And I was supposed to be finished on March 6th. However, a week or so before then my teacher talked to me about possibly continuing to the Associates degree program for Paralegals. I had stayed away from even the thought of that program because the amounts of responsibility kind of scared me and I didn't think that I was up to par for it. But this teacher is thoroughly convinced that I would be perfect for it. And apparently so is the Head of the Legal Department, and even the former Head! I was surprised. 

   At this time I had been looking online for jobs and opportunities and found nothing. At least nothing that I was qualified for. And then I was looking for childcare since Danika would obviously need childcare while Mom and I were working. And the prices for those places that take in children under 2 years was insane! We are talking like $200 a week! And there is no possible way that I could pay for that anytime soon. And I mentioned it to my teacher when she talked to me and she said that having the degree would be a huge help and that she would personally help me out with finding something. 

   So I talked to my parents about it to get their input and prayed about it, and I just started my first mod in the program! I will be finished in October of this year actually! This summer I will be interning at a law firm and I am so excited and terrified at the same time. But when I talked to the lady who is in charge of setting up those internships (well, at least getting me an interview for one) she said that she wants to get me to a large law firm, such as DeMeo DeMeo & West! This is huge! Sometimes these internships turn into jobs and of course I would prefer that, especially if I got an internship at DeMeo, but even if I didn't, having that on my resume would help so much! Their confidence in me (my teachers and the faculty) is really encouraging me. I really feel like God wanted this and that it is the direction He intended for me.

   I was a little concerned about how much more it would cost to finish this degree, but God provided all of it! Apparently I had a $2000 credit at Empire from my last program and there was a big chunk of money that I didn't use from last years Cal Grant and I will be getting it again this year! So evidently, Empire will  be giving me almost $500 for finishing! God is so amazing! 

   At church we have been learning more about tithing and being generous. At first it was hard for me because I have no income and so I haven't really be able to give consistently like I want to. But God has used it to teach, or more like remind, of how He provides. And He is showing it quite a lot lately. 

   I have been more happy as of late than I have been in a while. I mean all around. Of course I am always so happy when I am with Dani, she is the joy of my life, but God is bringing so much more joy in the other areas of my life. Maybe it is because I am really going down the right path, I am not sure, but I do know that I like this, I am happy and I don't want things to change for a while. :)